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Alexander Escalante
British Literature P5
Ms.Day
18 April 2016
Capstone

The author that will be shown in this essay is Frank O Connor. Frank OConnor is a
well-known author because his famous short stories. All of Frank O'Connor short stories were
based of his life. This essay will talk about his whole life and his entire career as a writer. And
this essay will be also comparing both of his famous short stories he created. The stories that will
be discussed is Guest of Nation and First Confession.
Frank OConnors real name was Michael Francis OConnor O'Donovan. He switched
his name when he became making business. Frank OConnor was born in September 17,1903.
He was born in Cork, Ireland.Frank was the only child from Minnie and Michael O Connor.
Growing up Frank lived in a chaotic environment. His father was an alcoholic and was not able
to support the family. His mother had to support the family and Frank admire his mother for
everything. Of course Frank resident his father because he was always drunk and was not able to
keep a job. To make things worse his father abused him and his mother. Frank never forgave his
father for his actions. During his childhood Frank was able to learn three languages. Frank had
learned French and German which had helped him later in life. He was rewarded for the 150
short stories he had created. Frank O'Connor's childhood was not the best childhood. He wrote a
book later in life called An Only Child in 1961.
In 1914 ,Frank had attended St. Patricks National School in Cork. Later on in his life he
had joined the Irish Republican to resist British rule. Frank had refused the Anglo Irish Treaty of

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1921. He had joined the antis side and battled in the Civil war. In his time during the Civil war
he spent time in a small unit at Cork City. In 1922 and 1923 Frank was imprisoned Gormanstown
camp. Frank had taken certain positions after the war. He became an Irish teacher and a Libiran.
OConnor was getting well known for his work in Ireland. He was being known because of his
short stories , noble literary critic,traveler writer,translator,and biographer.
In 1931 Mr. OConnor became a full time writer after being a businessman. He began to
finish his first volume of writing which was Guest of Nation. Soon after he was appointed to
be the director of the Abbey Theatre in 1935.There he was able to create Three Older
Brothersand Bones of Contention. In 1937 Frank O'Connor had made his first broadcast on
the radio. The radio he appeared on was called Radio Ellian. At the same time he was announced
managing director of Abbey Theatre. In 1938 Frank had married his wife, Evelyn Bowen
Speaight. Two years later, he made The Statues Daughterat the Gate Theatre.
Frank had faced a lot of challenges in his life. He writes his experience through his
stories. One of Franks short stories is Guest Of Nation. This story is based off of the
experience he faced when he was imprisoned during the civil war in Ireland. The story starts off
with two English men imprisoned in the civil war. Their names are Belcher and Hawkins. The
ironic situation was that Frank was in prison and he was Irish. The men who kept the characters
captive were members of the IRA. These gentlemen would play cards and would have different
agreements on certain topics. They most argued about religion, politics, and capitalist. The
characters in the story began to build a bond. Unfortunately the IRA members we notify that they
must execute their prisoners because the British army had executed their captives. In the end of
the conflict the prisoners were executed. This story shows the breaking down off a family bond

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that these men had. For Frank O'Connor he used the ideas he had from his dysfunctional family
to use in the story.
Another short story Mr. O'Connor is known for is First Confession. This short story is
about a young boy named Jackie. Jackie despises his grandmother but loved his grandfather
because of house close they were. Unfortunately, Jackies father passed away and his
grandmother had to move into the house. Nora, his sister, and his grandmother made Jackies life
a living hell in the story. One part in the story I lashed at out at her with a bread-knife
(OConnor). Jackie hid under the table and protected himself with a bread-knife. Jackie hated his
life at him. Soon, Jackie has to do his first confession to get his communion. Jackie was nervous
because he did not want to have a bad confession and was nervous meeting the priest. Jackie was
able to do his confession and realize that the priest was not a bad person. After hearing Jackies
story the priest had felt terrible for poor Jackie. The priest helped young Jackie with his problems
of the family. Jackie soon figured out that his plan to kill was not acceptable. In the story it
shows how much Jackie hated his grandmother yet he loved his grandfather so much after his
death. In Franks experience, Frank disliked his father because of how horrible he was as a
parent. Frank had hated his life because he saw how much his mother struggle to provide for the
family. Frank was able to portray his own experience with family issues in his character.
Both short stories are very good stories to read about. Both of them symbolize Frank
O'Connor in some way. Like in the beginning of this essay Franks short stories are stories based
off his own experiences. For example, like in Guest of Nation the setting is placed in Ireland
during a civil war. Frank OConnor is from Ireland and was a soldier during the civil. And for
First Confession Frank was able to show his own hatred towards his alcoholic father through a
character who hated his grandmother. One thing both stories have in common is that both stories

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are placed in Ireland. Frank OConnor is from Cork, Ireland so he creates the settings in Ireland
for the short stories.
Frank O'Connor is a very talented author. Being able to put personal experience was truly
amazing. He received plenty of awards because of his work. Despite many obstacles Frank had
faced in life, he was able to overcome it. For example, his drunk father ruining his childhood or
him being a prisoner during the war in Ireland. Guest of Nation and First Confession were
two amazing stories to read. For Guest of Nation because of the suspenseful drama throughout
the story. And for First Confession readers were able visualize the struggles young Jackie
faced in his family. Frank OConnor is truly an amazing short story author.

Work Cited

O'Connor, Frank. "First Confession." The Furrow 19.4 (1968): 233. Web.
O'Connor, Frank, and Michael Steinman. A Frank O'Connor Reader. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse UP,
1994. Print.

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"Frank O'Connor." - New World Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2016.

"Frank OConnor: Man of Letters." Frank O'Connor Research Website. Dr. Hilary Lennon, n.d.
Web. 04 May 2016.